The present invention relates to packages for surgical sutures and more particularly to a multiple panel folded retainer for a plurality of sutures which retainer allows for single strand dispensing of the sutures.
Packages for surgical sutures are constructed according to the nature of the suture and its intended use. Also, the packages are designed taking into consderation the economics of the package, the method of placing the sutures in the package, the type of suture placed in the package, etc. In general, the ideal package protects the suture during handling and storage yet allows the suture to be removed with a minimum of difficulty, prevents kinking, knotting, or entangling of the suture and the package itself should be economical to produce.
The more popular suture package consists of a folded paper or cardboard retainer with the sutures therein and with the retainer contained in a sterile hermetically sealed envelope. In many instances, the sterility of the suture and the envelope are maintained by a second sealed outer wrap. When the suture is to be used, the outer wrap is opened in the operating room and the sealed envelope deposited in a sterile area. Sterile personnel thereupon tear open the sterile envelope providing access to the suture.
Many packages have been developed which contain a plurality of sutures and have been designed in such a way as to allow all the sutures to be removed from the package or to allow a single suture to be removed from the package. The packages must be designed so a single suture can be removed from the package of multiple sutures without disrupting or entangling and rendering virtually useless the remaining sutures in the package. One technique for designing such a package is to design the package so it has individual and adjacent compartments with each compartment containing a suture. U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,376 discloses such a package. Another technique for producing such a package is to place some frictional material on the surface of the package which is to engage the sutures. Such frictional material will hold the sutures in place yet will allow a single suture to be removed from the package. An example of such a package is shown in copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 532,632 filed Sept. 15, 1983.
Yet another technique for producing a multistrand suture package allowing for single strand suture dispensing is to wind the sutures in a very specific manner so that they lay in the package in a manner that will allow single strand delivery from the wind. An example of such a technique for winding sutures in such a suture package is dislcosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,409. Still other multistrand suture packages are dislcosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,126,221 and 4,253,563.
Most of the above-described packages are for use with single armed sutures, i.e., a suture having a needle at one end. There have also been a number of packages developed for use with double armed sutures, i.e., sutures having needles at both ends. Examples of such double armed suture packages are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,759,376, 4,034,850 and 3,985,227. While a number of the above-described packages have gained considerable acceptance for packaging certain types of multistrand sutures to provide for single strand delivery, those sutures which are made of a material that tends to take a set or become kinked when wound still tend to become entangled or kinked or otherwise disrupted when packaged in such packages. One technique for packing multistrand sutures made of materials which tend to take sets is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,898. In this package there is a channel and the sutures are laid in the channel so that as one suture is removed from the channel the other sutures remain in the channel. The economics of this package are not as good as might be desired and, hence, it is still important to develop an economical package that can be used with sutures made from materials that take a permanent set and can be used with monofilament sutures and provide for single strand delivery from a package containing multiple strands of such sutures.
In producing such a multistrand suture package a number of things are important. Perhaps of primary importance is that the sutures should be wound in a manner that reduces the possibility of the suture taking a permanent set. The suture package should hold all the sutures while allowing dispensing of individual sutures without disruption or dislodgment or entangling of the remaining sutures in the package. Also perhaps of equal importance is that the single suture should be easily removed from the package with a minimum of force. Of course, in all such suture packages economics and cost are of importance as well as is the simplicity of the package to keep the expense in packaging sutures in such a package to a minimum.
Also, because of the way double armed sutures are dispensed, either or both needles must be accessible from the package. Therefore, many winding methods used for single armed sutures cannot be used with double armed sutures because of a higher propensity to tangle. Double armed sutures can be dispensed either by pulling one of the needles or by pulling both needles. Many users prefer the one needle dispensing method which results in a higher tendency to tangle or kink. It is an object of the present invention to produce a multi strand suture package which will hold sutures, including monofilament sutures, in a configuration such that any permanent set the suture might take is reduced. It is another object of the present invention to produce a multistrand suture package which allows for single strand delivery of sutures from the package with little or no disruption of the remaining sutures in the package. It is still another object of the present invention to have a package which is economical to produce. It is yet another object of the present invention to produce a package which will readily dispense double armed sutures without entanglement of the suture.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent upon the reading of the ensuing description and claims.